Drone Only Airspace is No Good for Little Guys

stephen.houser1 · Jul 29, 2015

Read this article about Amazons proposal and tell me what you think.

http://www.theguardian.com/technolo...onomous-drones-only-airspace-package-delivery

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jcknows0 · Jul 29, 2015

I heard about this in the news today. How is this a bad thing for hobbyist/semi-commercial drone usage? I'm secretly hoping for an easy route to commercialization with separate drone ATC solution. Even though I fly legal, I am in heavily trafficked airspace where small prop planes/corporate jets fly rather low over my house and droning areas.

unclejas · Jul 29, 2015

The less government interference in our lives the better.

Amazon wants to pad their corporate wallets with 30 minute deliveries of lipstick and smartphones. The airspace is regulated enough. Amazon could find a better way to deliver their products rather than suggestions of carving up the 400' guideline. I don't want to give up any space for such trivial usage.

LuvMyTJ · Jul 29, 2015

That proposal is only good for businesses with deep pockets and screws the little guy and hobby fliers. But I suppose what Amazon wants, Amazon gets by having extremely deep pockets.

I moved this topic for you to "News" where it belongs

stephen.houser1 · Jul 29, 2015

Don't get me wrong, I believe regulation is needed too. But this seems to favor Amazon more than hobbyists and other small time commercial flyers. See the quote below...

Brendan Schulman, who has been building and flying drones as a hobbyist for 20 years and is now a senior executive at the drone manufacturer DJI, said that by far the greatest use of unmanned aerial vehicles today was by amateurs. “That’s currently by far the most common use of the technology, so before you disrupt their experience you want to think carefully about what slice of airspace would really be needed by these new technologies.”

Kimchi said that Amazon did not envisage much change in the way modelers operate under the new proposal. “They will have low-risk areas in more rural areas where they can continue to fly safely to their heart’s content.”

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desertcat · Jul 29, 2015

The Amazon ahole says “They will have low-risk areas in more rural areas where they can continue to fly safely to their heart’s content.” F off Amazon. I'll continue to fly where I fly now, plus I'm sure DJI will equip consumer quads with the communications equipment necessary by then anyway. If Amazon proposes laws that require me to drive 4 hours into the country to fly, I will place an Amazon order by drone and beat the hell out of it with a bat when it lands in my front yard lol.

Monte55 · Jul 29, 2015

I have a question . Let's say the drone air delivery takes place. How does the drone know where to land? What if you live in an apartment building.? Let's say you are rural and have lots of space. Does the drone always deliver to the same spot like in a driveway.? How does it get this info? If it's a driveway, what if a car is parked in that spot at the time or a person or child is on that spot? As I have seen in promotional videos, the drone drops off a container. How do they get the container back? If this could work, it would be very complex to solve these issues.

Monte55 · Jul 29, 2015

[QdonE="desertcat, post: 464188, member: 24664"]The Amazon ahole says “They will have low-risk areas in more rural areas where they can continue to fly safely to their heart’s content.” F off Amazon. I'll continue to fly where I fly now, plus I'm sure DJI will equip consumer quads with the communications equipment necessary by then anyway. If Amazon proposes laws that require me to drive 4 hours into the country to fly, I will place an Amazon order by drone and beat the hell out of it with a bat when it lands in my front yard lol.[/QUOTE]
I don't care who you are....that's funny.

desertcat · Jul 29, 2015

Monte55 said:
I have a question . Let's say the drone air delivery takes place. How does the drone know where to land? What if you live in an apartment building.? Let's say you are rural and have lots of space. Does the drone always deliver to the same spot like in a driveway.? How does it get this info? If it's a driveway, what if a car is parked in that spot at the time or a person or child is on that spot? As I have seen in promotional videos, the drone drops off a container. How do they get the container back? If this could work, it would be very complex to solve these issues.

Well, UPS always delivers to the wrong address one street over that has the same number as mine, so I expect any machine or computer to be more intelligent than a UPS driver. I'm sure I'll just be getting more packages delivered correctly.

Monte55 · Jul 29, 2015

desertcat said:
Well, UPS always delivers to the wrong address one street over that has the same number as mine, so I expect any machine or computer to be more intelIgent than a UPS driver. I'm sure I'll just be getting more packages delivered correctly.

I doubt they ALWAYS deliver to the wrong house. Maybe you are just living in the wrong house. Remember, people have to enter this info into the system much of the time. Maybe they are screwing up. Im sure the drivers have gps but I know that can be off also. Most of the time my stuff is delivered properly but at times it will be delivered across the road from me. If the drivers had a clue what address numbers mean...they wouldn't make so many mistakes.

Canadian · Jul 29, 2015

Delivery drivers also show up when it's raining, snowing, and generally awful weather; will Amazon's drones? At this point in time, this Amazon concept seems to be more aimed at garnering attention than anything really practical or workable.

Then again, if it ever came to pass, think of the annoyance factor. Imagine living an area where there are dozens of these delivery drones zipping back and forth all day... It might become so irritating that people would stop buying from Amazon.

Monte55 · Jul 29, 2015

Canadian said:
Delivery drivers also show up when it's raining, snowing, and generally awful weather; will Amazon's drones? At this point in time, this Amazon concept seems to be more aimed at garnering attention than anything really practical or workable.

Then again, if it ever came to pass, think of the annoyance factor. Imagine living an area where there are dozens of these delivery drones zipping back and forth all day... It might become so irritating that people would stop buying from Amazon.

Ya mean like the Jetsons

desertcat · Jul 29, 2015

Monte55 said:
I doubt they ALWAYS deliver to the wrong house. Maybe you are just living in the wrong house. Remember, people have to enter this info into the system much of the time. Maybe they are screwing up. Im sure the drivers have gps but I know that can be off also. Most of the time my stuff is delivered properly but at times it will be delivered across the road from me. If the drivers had a clue what address numbers mean...they wouldn't make so many mistakes.

ok, maybe not ALWAYS. Once a month at least some stupid rookie UPS or FEDEX driver delivers to the other house with my same number. I'm not sure what you mean by I live in the wrong house. No, the drivers are half-retarded. I'm pretty sure I live in the right house lol.

JKDSensei · Jul 29, 2015

This thread has lost it's way.
It's not about who can accurately deliver packages....it's about AMAZON trying to get rulings passed that will limit our ability to fly our drones.

Stay on point.

stephen.houser1 · Jul 29, 2015

We need an advocacy group. I suppose there is AMA? Are they doing much to support us. Also, businesses that are looking to use drones under the new FAA guidelines once they are passed will need an advocacy group too.

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JKDSensei · Jul 29, 2015

stephen.houser1 said:
We need an advocacy group. I suppose there is AMA? Are they doing much to support us. Also, businesses that are looking to use drones under the new FAA guidelines once they are passed will need an advocacy group too.
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Money talks...memberships.
I'm not sure how many Drone operators are members of the AMA. In the 70's & 80's it was a pretty big deal to belong to that organization if you were into RC mainly for the liability coverage responsibility. Today, I don't think the new generation cares too much about things like that for the most part. Just having fun.

stephen.houser1 · Jul 30, 2015

Well..without advocates I don't imagine the hobby or the industry will be around for long. Is there no one speaking up for us.

There is also a never ending stream of posts on FB and on here that basically say "I just got my first drone today, flew so far and high I could not see it anymore. Heading out tomorrow to fly over a crowded stadium...yada yada yada".

It is upsetting. We can argue the safety of flying BVLOS all day, but the perceived danger by the public is enough to motivate policy makers (they thrive on fear) to legislate this hobby of our right away.

People need to educate themselves and use common sense when taking their toy/aircraft out of the box.

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AirApparent · Jul 30, 2015

Now I'm not that bright, but they propose 60 knots with some sort of smart technology for collision avoidance. What happens when birds of prey that can dive at speeds much greater Than that wind up attacking? They drone will crash and hurt someone. I'm sure they have the lawyers working on that too though.

SteveMann · Jul 30, 2015

No new rules will be proposed without a public comment period, and it's doubtful the FAA would consider an NPRM that limits hobby flight to 200 ft. unless Congress changes Section 336 of FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 which prevents the FAA from making new rules on hobby flight.

In a recent conversation with Archie Stafford at the AMA - I think he said he was an education specialist- We were talking about licensing, but I came from the conversation with the definite feeling that the AMA is still not embracing drones like the Phantoms. I won't say "hostile", but he thinks that small multi-rotor drones are just a passing fad and the future is in fixed-wing drones. (I didn't think of it until later, but he was saying that when drones resemble the airplanes they have been flying in circles at the end of control wires for the past century, they will welcome them into the fold).

If the AMA supports hobby drone operators in any proposed NPRM, I would expect that they would make the same horrible blunder they made of the AMA response to the Part 107 NPRM. In other words, thanks, but please stay out of it this time.

Yes, I am a member.

stephen.houser1 said:
... But this seems to favor Amazon more than hobbyists and other small time commercial flyers.

What would you expect - it's Amazon's proposal.

stephen.houser1 said:
There is also a never ending stream of posts on FB and on here that basically say "I just got my first drone today, flew so far and high I could not see it anymore. Heading out tomorrow to fly over a crowded stadium...yada yada yada".

I should ask this to be a sticky.....
THE SKY IS NOT FALLING!
The overwhelming majority of drone videos on YT are quite nice and the highest-farthest flights are few by comparison. Besides that, SO WHAT? What difference does it make that some people post flights that YOU think are irresponsible?